Stupak urges more FDA oversight of imported drugs

House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Bart Stupak (D-MI) is building a case for broad changes within the Food and Drug Administration, including its handling of imported drugs.

Specifically, Stupak and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-MI) are investigating the Food and Drug Administration and its handling of drugs such as cholesterol lowering drugs Lipitor, Vytorin, and heparin, a blood thinner made by Baxter Healthcare, the Wall Street Journal reported. One part of the investigation, according to the Journal, "will focus on why the FDA failed to inspect a Chinese plant making some of Baxter's active ingredient, and it is also likely to zoom in on broader concerns about the agency's technology."

Stupak also supports increased funding for the FDA to conduct inspections, power for the FDA to issue subpoenas and agency oversight of some drug advertising, according to the Journal. He has also recently called for the resignation of FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach.

Fecal transplants should be considered for patients with recurrent cases of Clostridium difficile whose symptoms cannot be addressed by antibiotics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America said in new guidelines published Thursday.

Lawmakers took a long-standing industry complaint to the Department of Health and Human Services this week, telling Secretary Alex Azar that Medicare and Medicaid favor opioid prescription over non-addictive alternatives for treating chronic pain.